Iceland's Government Founders Amid Voter Ire
2009年1月28日
Iceland's government collapsed on Monday, days after its prime minister called for early elections amid popular anger over a financial crisis that has gutted the economy.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde said he and his cabinet would resign immediately. The move came after his Independence Party failed to come to terms with the Social Democrats, its main partner in Iceland's coalition government. On Monday afternoon, Mr. Haarde presented his resignation to Iceland's president.
It is far from clear who will run Iceland until elections scheduled for May. Ms. Gisladottir proposed a fellow Social Democrat, Johanna Sigurdardottir, but Mr. Haarde's spokesman said the Independence Party -- which has a plurality of seats in parliament -- is determined not to hand over the prime minister's office.
Iceland becomes the second European nation -- after Belgium -- to lose its government in the global economic crisis. Iceland may be the world's hardest hit: Last fall, three big banks, or virtually the entire banking system, collapsed, and the island's currency went into free fall.
The currency and banking crises have caused a swift reversal of fortune for Icelanders, per capita once one of the world's wealthiest people. Today, inflation and unemployment are soaring, debt is mounting and the banking sector that provided jobs and fueled a consumption boom has vanished.
Charles Forelle |
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